Archive for 2010

You Gotta Love a Blizzard!

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010

Nothing takes me back to a childhood state-of-mind quicker than a blizzard.

What is it about blizzards? That they’re so mind-bogglingly dramatic? That they surprise us even though we know they’re coming, because everybody’s talking about “the big blizzard”?

I have faced real danger in snowstorms, and have pulled off the highway to wait out hazardous conditions. During one such wait many years ago I found myself wearing a giddy grin and giggling. What was the matter with me?! My goofy state of unreality did not indicate a grasp of the situation. In fact, I was fully cognizant, it’s just that blizzards make me feel as if I’m 6 years old.

When a snowstorm hits, some mysterious force takes hold and I’m flooded with memories: jumping off the roof of our house in New Hampshire into huge powdery snowbanks; building snow forts that rivaled castles in my mind; making snow angels and praying that the dogs wouldn’t… y’know. Those memories stimulate fantasies that range from prehistoric cave dwelling to trekking cross country in a covered wagon to – you name it. To me, snowstorms mean that anything is possible.

This week’s blizzard unleashed word inventions such as “blizzacane” and “snowmageddon”. Blizzards can be a catalyst-for-craziness: my snapshot of a dear friend leaping barefoot through snowdrifts in a transparent negligee is proof.

What a gift is a blizzard! If we choose to embrace it, it has the capacity to release the genius that is hiding in all of us. In this way it is similar to Theatrical Intelligence. Whether your dominant role (or mine) is an Actor or Technician, I am confident that our gut responses to blizzards are worthy of our attention.

Why? It is rare – and revealing – to capture that place in ourselves that’s willing to leap into unexplored terrain. That core of our being is often ignored in favor of our more practical parts. Finding it can be fun; sometimes even transformational. And you don’t have to have grown up with snowstorms to experience their phenomenon.

So next time a big blizzard is forecast, what the hell? Get ready for an emotional adventure – hidden worlds are waiting for you and your imagination to discover them.


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Posted in Imagination, Origins and Influences | 2 Comments »

A Theatrically Intelligent Holiday to You!

Monday, December 20th, 2010

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Posted in The Fun Part of Being Smart | 2 Comments »

Theatrical Intelligence Workshop: NYC

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

There is more to what you do than meets the eye.

And it cannot be seen through a regular lens...

Learn to look through another lens: use Theatrical Intelligence.

What is Theatrical Intelligence? It’s a process that uses theatre concepts to impact work performance. In this workshop you’ll identify the role(s) you were born to play by tapping into one or more of its 8 roles as your own creative strength.

Join us in a supportive, collaborative environment, and discover “the fun part of being smart!”


The ACADEMi of LIFE

presents

A Theatrical Intelligence Workshop

THE MUSE HOTEL

130 West 46th (6th & 7th)

$195. (lunch included)

REGISTER HERE (Click CLASSES)


WORKSHOP LEADER:

ANN SACHS: President and CEO of Sachs Morgan Studio, former leading actress on Broadway; award winning entrepreneur and founder of Theatrical Intelligence.

“There is no joy in living without joy in work.” Thomas Aquinas


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Posted in Theatrical Intelligence Workshops | 3 Comments »

“Remember the Ladies…” and Their Words of Wisdom

Monday, November 8th, 2010

On each of the past 52 weekends, I’ve posted one short quote on Twitter. It’s been a sort of ritual I intend to continue. Sometimes abbreviated due to the 140 character limit, these little gems give me an inspirational boost.

I was struck (though not surprised) as I reviewed these words of wisdom today, that most of my favorites come from women. So let’s “remember the ladies”!

ADAMS

Abigail Adams, writing to John Adams in 1776:

”…in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.”


PARKER

“Don’t look at me in that tone of voice!” Dorothy Parker


HURSTON

ALBRIGHT

“Those that don’t got it, can’t show it. Those that got it, can’t hide it.”

Zora Neale Hurston

“There is a special place in hell for women who do not help other women.”

Madeline Albright


WOOLF

“I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.” 

Virginia Woolf

“Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.” Madeleine l’Engle

L'ENGLE

And an honorable MEN-tion:

TWAIN


“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”  Mark Twain


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Posted in Historical Inspiration | 2 Comments »

Where Inspiration Spreads Wide Its Glorious Wings*

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010

Once again I have returned to Baker Library, in the town where I grew up: Hanover, NH. This is the place I wrote my term papers in high school…

The place I Iearned from a classmate that Oswald had been shot.

The place I found a desk with a secret drawer.

The place “where Inspiration spreads wide its glorious wings”.*

The place I am writing my book.

The place I am from.


Of the many rooms I love in this library, I find myself drawn once again to the Theodor Geisel (Dr. Suess) “imaginative place to study!” Must be something about unleashing the imagination of my childhood.

Voices from long ago join me, yet it is silent and I am alone. There is an exhibit in the hallway about the printing and binding of books which reminds me of my brother Jim.

It’s time to take the deep sea dive, as Dave Eggers calls it; no tweets, no emails, no calls.

Sitting here, I look at an illustration from the final Dr. Suess book published by Theodor Geisel in 1990: Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

I can’t imagine a more perfect place to work.

Over and Out.

* Inscribed (in french) on the proscenium of the old theatre in the Carnegie-Mellon School of Fine Arts, my alma mater.


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Posted in Origins and Influences, Places of Inspiration | 2 Comments »

What It’s All About…

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

This is my daughter Abigail, with her 2-year-old son Gabriel and 6-week-old daughter Lucy. My grandchildren. Was ever a word so apt? Grandchildren. These two little tykes have taught me the most profound lesson in my life-to-date: they are the reason I’m here on this earth.

Cliche? Yes. Over-the-top sentiment? Absolutely. Never did I imagine these hackneyed terms would apply to me! I always thought it would be fun to watch my children if they became parents, however, this generational connection stirring in my soul has caught me by surprise:

  • I find myself whispering words of wisdom into their ears.
  • My inner child (it’s OK to groan here) behaves with utter abandon, yet…
  • My hard-fought-for skills of diplomacy and restraint seem effortless.
  • I have never felt better about forging my own trail on my own terms.
  • I am compelled to continue growing, to be my best self for them.

My twice-daily-ritual, morning and night, is to recall everything I am grateful for. Gabriel and Lucy have given me the gift of a generational lens, through which the love in my life has multiplied a thousandfold. I am so thankful.

And that’s what it’s all about. For me.


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Posted in Love | 12 Comments »

A Chat With Tony Award Winning Designer Roger Morgan

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
This post is based on my interview1 with Roger Morgan, Tony Award winning Lighting Designer, and (full disclosure) my husband. Roger is my business partner at Sachs Morgan Studio -Theatre Design Specialists and I’ve written about him in this blog. When I asked Roger about his toughest work challenge, he talked, I listened, and these are his words:

Well, you know I always enjoy challenges. The toughest? Probably when I’m short on the three basic ingredients required to plan theatre spaces:

Time. Space. Money. (TSM)

Keeping TSM in balance makes a happy owner and a successful project, so the first challenge is to convince the owner to invest some T. This is a tough sell. Why? A comprehensive Architectural Program is necessary to predict TSM, and a Program is hard to grasp.

Architectural Program: ar•chi•tec•tur•al (adj) pro•gram (n)
Quantified list(s) of rooms, spaces, floor areas, expressed
in net square footage and/or diagrams; prose descriptions of
qualities that can’t be characterized in data.

I think of the Program as the recipe for the design and construction of the project. Here’s the catch: an owner often expects to begin the project with the design. With no program. And with a budget.

Our job is to communicate the value of the Program to the decision makers, who are not usually in the business of building buildings. It can be tricky: we’re designers and we love to draw; owners are bottom-line-driven and want results. So it’s tempting for all of us to rush, and discipline is required. Otherwise the project gets out of hand, costs more than it should and doesn’t meet anybody’s expectations. That’s not the way we like it.

Here’s the way we do it:

THE DESIGN TEAM WORKS WITH THE OWNER AND USERS

Interviews + Observation + Comparisons + Documentation = THE LIST

THE LIST:
How many?
How big?
Why?
For whom?
For what purposes?
Near what?
Why?
+   How often
Sq Ft, Ht + adjacencies

TRANSLATE THE LIST INTO BUBBLE DIAGRAMS

Bubble Diagram Draft

REVIEW DATA WITH COST ESTIMATOR OR QUANTITY SURVEYOR

CONVERT:
Net Sq Ft to Gross Sq Ft
Apply $psf cost values
Synchronize with local construction costs
RESULT: a prediction of project cost

In 40 years, no one has ever said “We’ve gotta spend more than that…” I’ve never seen a preliminary cost estimate meet with contentment. It’s another challenge of my job, cuz accuracy and qualifications of the team are usually questioned.

This is often the most intense time of a project because its very life is threatened. Assumptions are challenged: “What can you live without?” Soul searching begins and programmed spaces may be reduced. Difficult decisions are made. Eventually the Program is brought into alignment with the budget. TSM is clear.

You know what’s amazing? This all happens before anyone has drawn a line. 90% of the most important decisions for the project have been made!

We’ve agreed on the recipe – now we’re ready to cook. For me, that’s the fun part.

1An earlier version was published in Theatre By Design, the Studio’s Newsletter

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A Foreword For My Book… Or A Backward?

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

(A Loony Moment of Escape)

An eminent person is sometimes said to be helpful...

For weeks I’ve been obsessed with whom I might ask to write the Foreword to my book. Tonight, my husband offered to write a “Backward”.

Granted, this was probably a gesture intended to shut me up. My husband, however, is a guy with wild ideas that often work, so I listened. A “Backward” would be the opposite of a Foreword, he explained; instead of laying out why the book matters, it would summarize what people will remember. He went on to persuade me that “Backwards” will be a forward trend in publishing.

I ignored the fact that his idea reminded me of Father Guido Sarducci’s Five Minute University because I was convinced. We all know that people don’t read any more – I mean books are written about the fact that nobody reads them!  Who cares that I have spent this year consumed with writing, re-writing, cutting, purging, drilling down, down, down into this concept I am passionately committed to? Chances are that nobody will read the damned book anyway! A “Backward” sounds reassuring to me – a momentary escape from the thought that maybe no one cares.

So I’ll finish writing the book. I’ll find an eminent person to write the Foreword. And Roger will explain in his “Backward” exactly what readers would remember if they had actually read the book.

Um – do you suppose I should spell it “Backword”?

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Posted in Language | 6 Comments »

On Writing: “A Deep-Sea Dive…”

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

This week I’ve been immersed in another solo writing marathon in New Hampshire, cast in my current favorite Theatrical Intelligence role: Writer.  When Studio projects required my input, I stepped out of Baker Library and into my role as Producer or Manager. I have a quick-change-agility at jumping from Performer to Producer to Director and back.

I am not, however, agile enough to change roles when I’m writing. So it’s been a challenging week.

Dave Eggers. (Photograph © Maria Laura Antonelli)

Writer Dave Eggers was recently quoted in a newspaper article : “Writing is a deep-sea dive. You need hours just to get into it: down, down, down. If you’re called back to the surface every couple of minutes by an email, you can’t ever get back down.”

It’s the “…you can’t ever get back down” part that’s been killing me all week. On one of several breaks today to see if I could recover from “Studio Surfacing” as I’ve come to think of it, I chanced upon a slim volume of quotes from literary women.

The mighty Virginia Woolf came to my rescue: “Arrange whatever pieces come your way.” Her words stirred my soul.

How fortunate am I that millions of pieces have come my way!

Whether or not I can take a plunge into an Eggers-like-dive after surfacing to answer a phone call or an email, I can arrange my pieces. Every single day I’m aware of one little theatrically intelligent moment or another, from an early decade or a more recent one. So that’s what I did today: began to arrange my pieces.

As I pondered and reflected, more pieces kept coming at me and it was harder and harder to pay attention to the phone. The emails are still waiting.

What a wonderful day.


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Ensemble Studio Theatre Gala

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

Ann and JerryScene: Caroline’s Comedy Club, NYC, May 3, 2010.

Event: Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Gala

Picture: EST member (and teenage friend) Jerry Zaks, who presented the “Distinguished Member” Award to me. He recalled that I was in the first play he ever did, and thus was his first leading lady.

My husband Roger got the Award too (what are the chances of that? See photo below) as well as esteemed actor Dominic Chianese. We were told the awards honored our outstanding achievements over the past 40 years. Flattering. Not to mention the real reason: survival!

Dominic’s band, the New York Sidewalkers got the entire audience to sing along in a rousing rendition of That’s Amore! and many attendees said the whole thing felt like a family reunion. I was glad that I threw away my impassioned but oh-so-serious acceptance speech before the event, and (as is my tradition) expressed my thoughts in rhyme:

I stand here tonight with the clear sensation
That I am just one in the 4th generation
Of Irish Catholics and German Jews
Who arrived in our country and paid their dues
In order to plant the roots of a tree
Whose branches have grown into my family.

Roger Morgan, you’re part of my tale
And Sam, with your bright-bellied sis: Abigail!
The Morgan family is so far-reaching
It’s hard to fathom the depth of their teaching.

I could list the Sachs-Morgans, one by one
With their spouses and children: for me, t’would be fun
For all of YOU tho, t’would be mighty boring
(And it would be awful to cause all that snoring!)
So I’ll NOT list family names at this time
Though tempting it is to make it all rhyme.

My roots are my backbone and why I stand proud
In front of this highly distinctive crowd.
Agnes and John and Ernest and Maisie
(Good lord I’m listing them – I must be crazy!)
Julius and Rosa – Dad, Mom – and Jim
I carry your love and wisdom within.

What is it I’ve learned that makes me stand tall?
My children and friends often ask, when they call.

I think it’s BELIEF, or so it would seem
You gave me this gift: whatever my dream
Belief it could happen, BELIEF with true ZEAL
Would often make my vision turn REAL.

Then, the Theatre’s dose of daily rejection
Developed my armor: mighty protection
Through sadness and failure, all part of the deal
The standard, in fact, I expected to feel.
We all know, in theatre, that things DO go wrong
And staying the course tends to make us real strong.

So what was the dream I clung to these years?
That thing that kept growing in spite of my tears?
It’s really quite simple, though not to say easy

And sometimes I must say it made me quite queasy:
To merge my life and my work into one
Which included my husband and daughter and son
To create a safe place where all is OK
No matter the obstacles during the day
Has been my passion, my quest to feel free
In fact, it’s rather like – yup – EST!

So CURT, and ROGER and BILLY and PAUL
And Denny, two Jerry’s and – yes – to you ALL!
Marianna and Les, two Mindy’s and Chris: Abigail, Dave, Sam-Jamie-Nancy-Art-Peter- BetsyPollyMelodieJackSusanAnnieDonnaRita….

WHOA!

Thank you. I’m honored. In my tux and my boa.


Roger Morgan with Jim Boese, VP of the Nederlander Organization, who presented the Award after a humorous introduction about representing the FOR-profit theatre world. (Note: Roger’s Award is a beautiful, useable decanter from Tiffany’s.) Roger recalled the first play he was in at age 12, in a community theatre; he was mortified that people might think he was 10, the age of the character.


The Roches (Terre, Left, and Suzzy) who sang their hilarious song from MAMA DRAMA, I’d Like Her To Be Rich. Beginning in 1987, EST member Christine Farrell initiated MAMA DRAMA as an Octoberfest project; it grew into a full length play over several years at EST. Published by Samuel French, it’s produced all over the country, 20+ years later.


Four MAMA DRAMA writers. From Left: Christine Farrell, Leslie Ayvayzian, me, and Marianna Houston. Missing: Donna Daley, Anne O’Sullivan and the late Rita Nachtmann.

There was a lot of laughter that night (and too many suggestions of a GRAND-MAMA DRAMA!)

Me and Tony Soprano?  Go figure!




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Posted in Collaboration | 4 Comments »

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